Herman van Swanevelt
Encyclopedia
Herman van Swanevelt was a Dutch
painter and etcher from the Baroque era.
to a family of thriving artisans whose ancestors included the famous painter Lucas van Leyden
. The identity of Swanevelt’s teacher remains a mystery. A new hypothesis suggests that he was a pupil of Willem Buytewech.
He painted his first signed and dated works in 1623 in Paris
. In 1629 he moved to Rome
, where he painted many landscapes, and introduced a new type of idyllic ideal landscape with sunlit 'contrejours' reflecting the times of day. As a matter of fact he seems to be one of the first to paint landscapes without biblical and mythological subjects. Swanevelt became a member of the Bentvueghels
; his alias was "heremiet
", while he preferred to work alone.
Created and developed by Paul Bril and Cornelis van Poelenburch from 1600 onward, the genre of the “Italianate landscape” entered its classical phase in the 1630s with the advent of Swanevelt and his friends and contemporaries Pieter van Laer
and Claude Lorrain
. His paintings became very popular and the Barberini
family, Pope Urban VIII and the Vatican
offered him commissions, like in the monastery of Monte Cassino
. Along with Lorrain and others, he also painted landscapes for Philip IV of Spain
's new Buen Retiro Palace
in Madrid
.
In 1641 he returned to Paris, where he remained except for occasional visits to his birthplace Woerden
. He became a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture
in 1651. He assisted in the decoration of the Hôtel Lambert
and made numerous drawings and etchings. His patrons in France
were Cardinal Richelieu and King Louis XIV. Swanevelt lived in Rue du Temple when he died.
, and those of the second generation who imitated his monumental compositions and his treatment of southern sunlight. In the last decade of his life when Swanevelt made a few trips to Woerden, he also painted Dutch scenery, but with the typical southern sunlight.
, of which only one survived. Art historian Susan Russell proposed that a frieze with seven scenes from the life of Saint Joseph
in the east wing of Palazzo Pamphilj
in Piazza Navona
was also painted by him.
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
painter and etcher from the Baroque era.
Life
Herman was born in WoerdenWoerden
Woerden is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, and the fact that it has excellent rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commuters who work in those cities.-Population...
to a family of thriving artisans whose ancestors included the famous painter Lucas van Leyden
Lucas van Leyden
Lucas van Leyden , also named either Lucas Hugensz or Lucas Jacobsz, was a Dutch engraver and painter, born and mainly active in Leiden...
. The identity of Swanevelt’s teacher remains a mystery. A new hypothesis suggests that he was a pupil of Willem Buytewech.
He painted his first signed and dated works in 1623 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. In 1629 he moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where he painted many landscapes, and introduced a new type of idyllic ideal landscape with sunlit 'contrejours' reflecting the times of day. As a matter of fact he seems to be one of the first to paint landscapes without biblical and mythological subjects. Swanevelt became a member of the Bentvueghels
Bentvueghels
The Bentvueghels were a society of mostly Dutch and Flemish artists active in Rome from about 1620 to 1720. They are also known as the Schildersbent .-Activities:...
; his alias was "heremiet
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
", while he preferred to work alone.
Created and developed by Paul Bril and Cornelis van Poelenburch from 1600 onward, the genre of the “Italianate landscape” entered its classical phase in the 1630s with the advent of Swanevelt and his friends and contemporaries Pieter van Laer
Pieter van Laer
Pieter van Laer was a Dutch Golden Age painter of genre scenes, active for over a decade in Rome, where his nickname was Il Bamboccio...
and Claude Lorrain
Claude Lorrain
Claude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English Claude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English (also Claude Gellée, his real name, or in French Claude Gellée, , dit le Lorrain) Claude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English (also Claude Gellée, his real name, or in French...
. His paintings became very popular and the Barberini
Barberini
The Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII...
family, Pope Urban VIII and the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
offered him commissions, like in the monastery of Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
. Along with Lorrain and others, he also painted landscapes for Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
's new Buen Retiro Palace
Parque del Buen Retiro
The Buen Retiro Park is the largest park of the city of Madrid, Spain...
in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
.
In 1641 he returned to Paris, where he remained except for occasional visits to his birthplace Woerden
Woerden
Woerden is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, and the fact that it has excellent rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commuters who work in those cities.-Population...
. He became a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture
Académie de peinture et de sculpture
The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture , Paris, was founded in 1648, modelled on Italian examples, such as the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. Paris already had the Académie de Saint-Luc, which was a city artist guild like any other Guild of Saint Luke...
in 1651. He assisted in the decoration of the Hôtel Lambert
Hôtel Lambert
Hôtel Lambert is a hôtel particulier, a grand mansion townhouse, on the Quai Anjou on the eastern tip of the Île Saint-Louis, Paris IVème; the name, Hôtel Lambert, was a sobriquet that designated a 19th-century political faction of Polish exiles, who gathered there.-Architectural history:The house...
and made numerous drawings and etchings. His patrons in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
were Cardinal Richelieu and King Louis XIV. Swanevelt lived in Rue du Temple when he died.
Art
During the beginning of the 1630s his development runs parallel to Claude's, and in some ways even anticipates it. During the thirties Swanevelt refined his idyllic landscape style. Swanevelt was an important link between the first generation of Dutch italianate painters, such as Cornelis van Poelenburch and Bartholomeus BreenberghBartholomeus Breenbergh
Bartholomeus Breenbergh was a Dutch Golden Age painter of Italianate landscapes.-Biography:Little is known of his early life. In his famous three volume Schouburg, Arnold Houbraken mentioned him in his first volume with an entreaty to readers to write him with more news of Breenberg's biography...
, and those of the second generation who imitated his monumental compositions and his treatment of southern sunlight. In the last decade of his life when Swanevelt made a few trips to Woerden, he also painted Dutch scenery, but with the typical southern sunlight.
Works
For a long time the only murals attributed to Swanevelt were the two lunettes in the sacristy of Santa Maria sopra MinervaSanta Maria sopra Minerva
The Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva is a titular minor basilica and one of the most important churches of the Roman Catholic Dominican order in Rome, Italy. The church, located in the Piazza della Minerva in the Campus Martius region, is considered the only Gothic church in Rome. It houses...
, of which only one survived. Art historian Susan Russell proposed that a frieze with seven scenes from the life of Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
in the east wing of Palazzo Pamphilj
Palazzo Pamphilj
Palazzo Pamphilj, also spelled Palazzo Pamphili, is a palace facing onto the Piazza Navona in Rome. It was built between 1644 and 1650.Since 1920 the palace has housed the Brazilian Embassy in Italy, and in 1964 it became the property of the Federative Republic of Brazil.-History:In 1644, Cardinal...
in Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones , and hence it was known as 'Circus Agonalis'...
was also painted by him.